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DICHOTOMY   (TOP 15% NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP 2022)

DICHOTOMY (TOP 15% NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP 2022)
By Amir Fatykhov

GENRE: Mystery, Drama
LOGLINE:

In a cold London prison, Ethan begins to question his sanity as he grapples with visions of a mysterious fellow prisoner and encounters a powerful entity hunting him, while his wife and a compassionate prison doctor struggle to uncover the truth behind his terrifying unraveling reality.

SYNOPSIS:

Ethan Lewis, a South African hotelier wrongly imprisoned for fraud, finds himself isolated within the harsh confines of a London prison. Struggling with the weight of his unjust sentence, Ethan begins to experience visions that blur the lines between reality and delusion. His only solace comes from a fellow inmate, Alex, who offers companionship and a sense of purpose in the bleak environment. However, Ethan’s world is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that Alex is not what he seems—no one else can see him, and the prison’s surveillance footage shows Ethan fighting alone during a brutal altercation he believed Alex was part of.

As Ethan delves deeper into his fractured mind, he learns that Alex is an egregor—a collective entity seeking to transcend its spiritual form by inhabiting a human body. Alex has chosen Ethan as his vessel, promising him divine freedom in exchange for his mortal shell. Meanwhile, the prison’s atmosphere grows increasingly oppressive, plagued by illness and despair, as the presence of Kali Ma, a powerful and ancient force, begins to permeate the prison walls. Kali Ma is hunting Ethan, determined to stop the unnatural union of man and entity that threatens to disrupt the balance of the universe.

Outside the prison, Ethan’s wife, Carol Ann, struggles to keep their family afloat while grappling with the emotional weight of her husband’s absence. As she fights to maintain a sense of normalcy for their son, she becomes increasingly desperate to understand the truth behind Ethan’s condition. Inside the prison, Dr. Sanjay, a compassionate and intellectually curious prison doctor, takes a special interest in Ethan’s case. Torn between his duty and his fascination with the mysteries of the mind, Sanjay becomes Ethan’s confidant and, unknowingly, a key player in the unfolding cosmic battle.

Haunted by his past, pressured by his present, and facing a cosmic decision with unimaginable consequences, Ethan must confront the truth of his existence and make a choice that will determine not only his fate but the fate of the world as he knows it. In the end, as the barriers between dimensions weaken, Ethan’s transformation leads him to fulfill a long-forgotten promise, bringing his beloved aunty’s soul to a mystical brigantine—a vessel that carries her into a new, uncharted dimension. "Dichotomy" is a haunting exploration of identity, reality, and the boundaries of human existence, weaving a tale of psychological horror and spiritual awakening set against the backdrop of an unforgiving prison, and underscored by the unwavering love of a wife and the curiosity of a doctor who seeks to understand the impossible.

Pattana Thaivanich

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Nathaniel Baker

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Reid Pickett

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Nate Rymer

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